The Prince's Tale
by antebellum13
Summary: What if You-Know-Who was defeated long before Harry had ever been born. What if Severus Snape had a shot at what he died for in the original series? Allow me to give you the romantic "What if?" you all wondered about when reading the original books.
1. Platform Nine and Three Quarters Again

**Chapter One – Platform 9¾ Again**

A shrill warning whistle blew, causing the busy platform full of students to hastily bid farewell to their parents and start banging their trunks and various animal cages up the stairs and onto the carriages of the grand scarlet train. Severus Snape looked around at his sallow-faced mother, who smiled sadly at him and gave him a quick squeeze goodbye. Severus nodded then turned away, dragging his heavy trunk onto the train.

Walking through the halls, he finally came to an empty compartment and slid open the door, stowing his trunk in the overhead storage, and slumping down in his seat just as the Hogwarts Express began to move. It was his final year at Hogwarts, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to be there. Before he could dwell on this thought, however, his compartment door slid open again.

James Potter, accompanied by Sirius Black and little Peter Pettigrew—their other lackey, Remus Lupin, was most likely in the prefects' carriage—stood at the door, leering down at him. Acting instinctively, Severus jumped to his feet and dove into his pocket, yanking his wand out, but Potter was too fast for him. He flew backwards and hit the window with a sickening crack in his skull, sliding down to the floor in a daze. Shaking his head, Severus raised his wand, but before he could so much as think of a hex, he was hoisted into the air by his ankle, his injured head hitting the window again and his wand flying out of his hand.

"We would have waited until you'd changed into your robes, Snivellus, so we'd get a nice view of your underpants again, but we were bored," sneered Black, "and decided to come have some fun now." Pettigrew sniggered beside them.

Furious, Severus glared at the trio and kicked his foot out violently, causing the jinx to break and him to come crashing to the floor.

"I see the slime ball has been practicing," Potter said with a jeering look on his face. A split second later, there was a bright flash of light and a loud bang, and all three boys were suddenly lying on their backs in the aisle. Astonished, Severus looked down at his wand. It had rolled under a seat, so he hadn't had a chance to collect it yet, but he was sure wands couldn't act of their own accord. Looking back up, a girl with long red hair stood at the entrance to his compartment holding a trunk of her own, glaring down at him.

Slamming the compartment door behind her, the girl stalked over to Severus and thrust her hand out for him to take. He grasped it and stood quickly. Brushing himself off, he looked down at the girl and opened his mouth.

"Lily, I—" But Lily held up her hand to silence him.

"I see you've made an effort to wash your hair since the last time I saw you," she said crisply. Severus's cheeks reddened slightly as he opened his mouth to try to speak again.

"Why did you bother if—" but he was silenced once more with Lily's hand.

"It was a joke, Sev," she said, her face relaxing a little, allowing a grin to fall over it. She reached out and brushed a bit of dust from Severus's shoulder, tossed her trunk into the alcove above, and then plopped down into a seat. Severus sat down tentatively across from her, confused and unsure of what to say.

The previous year had come and gone without so much as a contemptuous glare from Lily. She had stopped speaking to him at the end of their fifth year, because he had called her 'Mudblood', a loathsome and inexcusable thing to call one of Muggle descent. So why she was here now, after a whole year, talking to him, even smiling at him a little, he had no idea. He had been convinced that she hated him.

"What're you—" Again, Severus was cut off.

"Look, last year, with Avery and Mulciber, what they did, and what you did, I know it couldn't have been easy, and I…" she sighed and looked down at her hands. "Oh, Sev, I'm sorry I've let this carry on for so long. I've been so stupid… You were my first friend here, and—and I just… Oh, I don't know, Sev. With You-Know-Who gone, it just seems silly to hold a grudge anymore. Will you forgive me?" Lily gazed up at Severus, her almond-shaped emerald eyes blazing. She looked fierce, as if she dared him to say no, but at the same time, afraid that he really would say no.

After a moment, he said, in a hoarse voice, "'Course I do, Lily." Positively beaming, Lily threw herself across the compartment and hugged Severus with a might he didn't realize she had in her. Bemused, he hugged her back. How he had ached to have her back, to have her look at him like that again… He would do everything in his power to keep from messing this chance up.

As the hours passed, Lily and Severus chattered away, catching up after a year of silence, clearing the cobwebs. Soon, it was as though they had never stopped speaking. Dark had fallen outside the train now, they would be nearing the school soon. They pulled on their robes—hers Gryffindor, his Slytherin—and sat back down. The compartment door slid open once more, revealing Potter, quite alone, in his school robes.

"A word, Evans?" he said, jerking his head over his shoulder to indicate he wanted her to come out to the corridor. With a great roll of her eyes at Severus, she sighed loudly and hoisted to her feet as though it took a great effort, then followed James out into the hall. The compartment door shut behind them.

It was just like that arrogant little toad to come barging in, thought Severus as he crossed his arms angrily over his chest. He couldn't hear what they were saying over the roar of the engine and the rush of the countryside flashing by outside, but he felt sure he had an idea. Potter had had his eye on Lily for years, yet she had never shown him one ounce of interest in return. Severus knew Potter had loathed him back before Lily and Severus had their falling out, just for the mere fact that Lily preferred talking to him over Potter. But last year had been absolutely unbearable. With Lily no longer talking to Severus, Potter had felt it necessary to make his life a living hell, since he no longer feared retribution from Lily.

Then the incident with Avery and Mulciber, and the Dark Lord had come close, very close to succeeding… Severus had very nearly stayed home this year. Had it not been for the fact that living at home was almost certainly worse than living under the torment of Potter and Black and Lily's cold shoulder, he was sure he wouldn't have come back. But he had, and now he was very glad indeed that he had. Until, of course, Potter stuck his great fat head in and ruined what had otherwise been a decent trip back to Hogwarts.

Severus was suddenly aware of someone shouting. Listening closely, he could just make out the words over the surrounding noises.

"—does it matter to you if I'm on speaking terms with him again? At least I don't go round jinxing him whenever I get the chance!" It was clearly Lily's voice. Potter's retort came back just as loudly.

"What does it matter? What does it— Are you insane? Look at him! He's so steeped in the Dark Arts that I'm surprised You-Know-Who didn't come to collect him before trying to blow up the school last year! Have you forgotten who he used to run around with? Have you forgotten what they did last year?"

"Of course I haven't! But if Severus hadn't acted, hadn't done what he did, a lot more people would have died, not just poor little Habren—"

"Oh, so you think he was acting the hero? You've forgotten what house he's in, Evans. Slytherin! They don't act the hero, they save their own necks before worrying about anything else, and that's what he was doing, he was saving his own neck! He knew Dumbledore was going to be furious, so he did what he had to do to make it look like a setup, to make himself look the victim. I don't trust him one bit, Evans, and you shouldn't either! If you think I'm going to stand by and let you hang around with that scum again, you're sadly mistaken!"

"Oh, you'll _let_ me, will you? Since when are you the boss of me? Since when do I have to run by who I hang around with _you_? You know, Sev was right all along, you really are an arrogant ass!"

With that, the compartment door flew open. Severus caught a glimpse of Potter standing there with his mouth hanging open to form a rebuttal Lily would never hear, before she slammed the door shut again, with such a force that the glass pane fell from the little window and shattered.

"Reparo!" Lily said angrily, flinging her wand toward the mess at her feet. The glass flew gracefully back up to the window, where it settled itself back in, good as new. Fearing she might turn her anger on him next, Severus tried to look anywhere but her. He heard her lightly sigh and sit down in her seat.

"Sev," she said softly, and he looked up at her. "Sev, I made a mistake once listening to him. I lost a best friend last year, and I'm not going to let him dictate who I see anymore. You have my word that, unless you do something absolutely dreadful to me, I won't leave again."

Severus's chest filled with a warm feeling he hadn't felt in over a year. He smiled at Lily, the object of his affection, and nodded. A whistle blew somewhere off in the distance, at the head of the train, and it began to slow down as they neared the castle. The two sat in silence until the train came to a complete stop, and, after retrieving their luggage, they set off down the corridor toward their final year at Hogwarts.

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	2. A Bad Sort

**Chapter 2 – A Bad Sort**

When Severus and Lily reached the entrance hall and walked into the Great Hall, they bid farewell to each other and parted ways, Severus going left and Lily going right. As Severus drew closer to the Slytherin table, he noticed people staring and whispering to their friends. He could feel them watching as he took a seat at the very end of the table, without drawing notice from the other Slytherins.

Severus felt his cheeks redden and he looked down at his empty golden plate. He knew what everyone was talking about, and quite frankly, he didn't want to know what exactly everyone's opinions were of the subject. He'd heard enough from Potter on the train to know exactly what probably the majority of the school thought about the situation.

Forcing the subject from his mind, Severus looked up as a few dozen terrified kids walked into the Great Hall, led by Professor McGonagall. They lined up between the staff table and the four house tables as McGonagall placed a stool in front of them, then an old battered wizard's hat on top of it. After a moment, a tear near the brim opened, and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, another year has come_

_And here we are again,_

_To educate young students!_

_The learning shall begin!_

_I am the Hogwarts' Sorting Hat,_

_But before I send you on,_

_Allow me the pleasure_

_Of singing you a song._

_Long ago, the Makers_

_Built this grand and mighty place_

_To house young students' minds_

_As they started up the race,_

_To find what they should truly do_

_In this world so wide_

_Each student would be sorted_

_Into houses; they divide_

_Gryffindor, the brave,_

_Ravenclaw, the smart,_

_Slytherin, the cunning,_

_And Hufflepuff's pure heart,_

_Made up the four houses_

_To which students would call home_

_But once they were divided,_

_Each house stood alone._

_In recent days of yore,_

_Great darkness has passed on._

_The time is ripe to try again,_

_Before the chance is gone._

_We must stand together_

_Or else perish in the night,_

_For it is only linking arms_

_That we fulfill our might._

_And now here we sit,_

_Another year swoops in._

_Without further obligation,_

_Let the Sorting now begin!"_

The hat finished with a smattering of applause, and McGonagall stepped forward to begin reciting names. Severus watched the sorting without really listening, without really seeing. As the final student was sorted – "HUFFLEPUFF!" – Severus began to turn back to his table, where, after Dumbledore had said a few words, a great feast would be appearing shortly.

His attention, however, was caught by a flash of red, and he turned his head slightly to see Lily, with her back abruptly turned away from Potter, who was looking mutinous. He glanced over at the Slytherin table and searched for a moment before his eyes found Severus's. They glared at each other for a moment, before being forced to break eye contact as Dumbledore stood and the Hall became silent.

"Well, another year, another great feast! Let us not allow it to grow cold! Bon appétit!" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. He sat down in his high-backed chair at the center of the staff table, and moments later, the tables filled with food.

Turning back to the table, Severus began to pile his plate with food. As he ate in silence, he became of aware of the fact that he was being stared at rather intensely. Looking up, he saw himself reflected in the glares of a dozen other Slytherins. Becoming suddenly nervous, he laid his knife and fork down and set his hand in his lap, near his wand pocket.

"Don't even think about it, Snape," spat a sixth-year boy, Zabini. "What makes you think you're welcome at this table anymore?"

"Well, you see, about seven years ago, I put on this thing called the Sorting Hat, and it told the entire room that I was to be in Slytherin. So I think that right there gave me explicit permission to sit here. In case you didn't notice, this is the Slytherin table," said Severus coolly. Zabini and several others swore at him under their breath.

"Think you're clever, do you?" drawled a female voice. Turning, Severus saw it belonged to Bellatrix Black, who was sneering nastily at him. Her boyfriend, a seventh-year, Rodolphus Lestrange, sat next to her, mirroring her sneer.

"You're not welcome at this table, Snape. You had a lot of nerve showing up here," Lestrange said. "Oh, and you can find somewhere else to sleep. I don't feel like sharing a room with a traitor. I daresay Myrtle could use some company."

Abruptly, Severus stood. Glaring at the lot of them, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the Hall. Again, he was aware of the stares and whispers as he passed, and at the moment he was so angry, he didn't really care. More lies, more rumors, more half-truths. What did it matter to him? What did it matter that they could all be dead now had he not acted the previous year?

Once out of the Great Hall, he took a sharp right and followed a staircase down to the dungeons, where he stopped before a bare stretch of seemingly boring stone wall. However, this particular stretch of wall spoke to him in a nasally voice.

"Password?"

Severus stood rooted to the spot. Dammit, he thought desperately. Kicking the wall in frustration, Severus hurried back up the stairs as the wall shouted curse words behind him. He didn't really have a choice, so he went to the only place he could think of.

He'd been sitting across from the stone gargoyles for nearly a half hour when, finally, Severus detected the soft sound of robes swishing across the marble floors. Seconds later, Dumbledore appeared before him and stopped, watching Severus as he scrambled to his feet.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Snape, I quite expected to see you here soon, though, perhaps, sooner than I thought," Dumbledore said to him. Turning to the stone gargoyles, he said, "Licorice wand!" and the gargoyles moved aside to reveal a winding staircase. "Come along, Severus."

Stepping onto the staircase, Dumbledore and Severus stood in silence as they rode their way slowly to the top before stopping in front of a polished wooden door. Dumbledore reached out and turned the knob, while simultaneously gesturing his other hand into the office.

"After you." Severus entered the office. He'd been there the year before, but it was only briefly, perhaps a quarter of an hour or so. He'd been fascinated before by all the magical objects that stood puffing and spinning and twinkling on a table near the far wall, and by the portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses snoozing peacefully in their frames, and he wasn't any less curious this time around; however, like last time, he wasn't here for any pleasant means.

Dumbledore strode across the room and behind his desk, where he sat down upon his chair and gestured to the seat across the desk. Severus obediently took a seat. Dumbledore leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, bringing the tips of his fingers together. Peering down at Severus over his half-moon spectacles, Severus suddenly felt as though he were going to be interrogated again, as he'd been all summer at the Ministry. Finally, Dumbledore spoke.

"We seem to have a small dilemma. It looks as though, in the celebration of Lord Voldemort's demise–" Severus flinched slightly at the mention of his name–"many students have ignored the announcement I made concerning your part in their lives. They seem to have all formed their own version of events, and unfortunately, you are quite unpopular. An unfortunate and very poor way to pay you back for your extraordinary bravery last year, if I may say so.

"It is my wish that my students see the error of their ways and accept you back into their ranks. However, I'm afraid, no offense, Severus, that Slytherins do not easily forgive, and to them, you have committed quite the terrible act of betrayal. Two Slytherins, whom are regarded with high respect in your house, now sit in Azkaban due to your actions, but rather than recognize it for the act of courage it was, they instead view it as treachery. I do not believe they will forgive you before your time at Hogwarts comes to a close.

"And therein lies the dilemma. We obviously cannot send you back to live with the Slytherins. Enough blood has been spilled within these walls, and it is not my wish to place you in harm's way once more. Nor can we place you with any of the other houses, not until they have come to their senses, which, while it will certainly take less time than the Slytherins, might also not come about until your seventh year has long since drawn to a close.

"But fear not, dear boy, we will not simply throw you out, or force you to sleep somewhere uncomfortable. We–that is, the other professors and I–have set up a small room for you in a more secluded hall of the castle. It is small, but it has its own bathroom, a fireplace, a bed, even a window. I think you should find yourself quite comfortable there. The entrance will be located behind a tapestry of Igor the Ignorant in an alcove at the end of the third floor corridor. The password is whatever you choose it to be. Speak wisely, as it will be the first word out of your mouth when you reach the tapestry. Whenever you wish to change the password, you simply need to tap the hilt of Igor's rather small sword with your wand, say '_Mutare_', and then choose another password.

"As for your eating arrangements, I'm afraid not much can be done. I do not wish to isolate you from your peers entirely, I feel this would harm you much more than benefit you. If you choose to eat in your room, you may do so, of course, but I feel it would be better if you were to choose another table to sit at during mealtimes. While the students of the other houses might have their opinions of what you did, I do not believe any of them will bring harm to you while in direct presence of the professors.

"Newt-level classes are, as you already know, mixed, so I'm afraid you will have to tolerate the Slytherins during those hours. It is our duty to keep our students safe, and you will have protection while you are here. Are there any questions?"

Severus started a little; he had not expected the conversation–if you could call it that–to come to such an abrupt halt, and he'd been listening so raptly, that it took him a moment to think of a response.

"Er–no. No, I think that's good. Thank you, sir," Severus said, for it was all he could think to say.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Well then, I must urge you to get some rest! Classes start bright and early, you know!" Severus nodded and stood.

After leaving Dumbledore's office, Severus headed straight for the third floor, not stopping until he reached the tapestry of the particularly ugly Igor the Ignorant holding a small sword–or perhaps an oversized dagger–high over his head as though he were about to strike down an invisible foe. He thought for a moment, trying to think of a good password. Finally, it came to him, the obvious choice–

"Lily."


End file.
